According to the IBGE, women’s salaries are on average 20.5% lower than men’s. This fact was brought to the attention of thousands of spectators who watched the final match of the 2019 Women’s Paulista Championship, which was broadcast live this last Saturday, Nov. 16, on FPF TV, the official TV station of the Paulista Football Federation, organizer of the tournament. Corinthians defeated São Paulo by a score of 3-nil in the game held at Arena Corinthians, and became the new champion.

The #PlacarPelaMudança (#ScoreboardForChange) action created by advertising agency BETC São Paulo for the Paulista Football Federation, with support from UN Women, used the scoreboard during the game to call attention to the wage gap, by subtracting 20% from the value of each goal scored: at different times, the score on the FPF TV broadcast showed 0.8 instead of 1, or 1.6 instead of 2, also affecting the final score of the big game.

“We believe that the 2019 Paulista Championship final, with its record visibility numbers, represents a historic opportunity for us to question the fact that women still earn less than men in the workplace,” states Aline Pellegrino, Women’s Football Director at the Paulista Football Federation. “It is essential, especially in current times, to promote important discussions that will contribute to the development of society. Women’s space in society and the way in which they occupy it is one of these discussions,” says Aline.

“We are fighting not only for the recognition of women’s football in our country, but also for gender equality, so that women’s participation and importance in the workforce is properly recognized, including when it comes to wages,” emphasizes BETC São Paulo Executive Creative Director, Andrea Siqueira. “Our idea was to make each goal on the scoreboard reflect women’s wages as compared to men’s, in order to shine a spotlight on the issue and call attention to the wage gap,” adds Milena Cabral, member of the creative team.

In order to explain to viewers that FPF TV was not showing an incorrect score, narrator Camilla Garcia, sportscasters Nathalia Ferrão and Juliana Santos, and reporters Mari Pereira and Marilia Galvão also took part in the action, by bringing up the subject and encouraging people to join the discussion on Facebook.